Leading article: Paint job
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.For some reason there's always been a glamour that attaches to art heists. They are a mainstay of film and literature. So is this week's theft of five paintings from the Museum of Modern Art in Paris a case of art mirroring life, or life mirroring art? That's one for Paris's philosophers to grapple with.
But the more immediate question is: why go to the immense trouble of stealing these works? Famous paintings are virtually impossible to sell on. No auction house will accept them without a history of ownership. The popular image is of some wealthy and unscrupulous art lover paying some crooks to steal a work to order, which will then be admired in a secret room.
Yet investigators believe that what tends to motivate these thefts is something different. They argue it is more likely that international criminal gangs use rolled-up paintings as a form of easily portable "currency". Which gives rise to the thought that weapons-dealers and drug-smugglers trust the value of Matisse and Picasso more than hard cash. And that leads to another bizarre thought: a criminal asking the person on the other side of his nefarious deal if he's got change for a Vermeer.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments